Charter schools. School Vouchers. Private Schools. Home Schooling. Join the discussion as Staff Writer Arianna Prothero examines the implications of school choice for students, families, and education.

Although charter laws have been passed in 43 states and the District of Columbia, how the schools are funded has turned out to be somewhat of an Achilles' heel in some states. Washington state's high court ruled in 2015 that the way charters were funded was unconstitutional. Lawmakers have since revised the funding system there, and charters are back up-and-running in the state.

In response to lawsuits such as these, the nation's largest charter advocacy group, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, recently launched a legal action and defense fund.

In Louisiana, local K-12 officials as well as the Louisiana Association of Educators, a state teachers' union, argued it was unconstitutional to fund schools run outside local school systems with money meant to go local parishes.

"This is a significant victory in defending the right of every child in Louisiana to attend a quality public school," said LAE President Debbie Meaux in a statement. "It is crucial for the state to adequately fund the institutions where the vast majority of Louisiana's students learn, and a majority of Louisiana's students learn in public school classrooms."

The Associated Press reports that the Louisiana case is expected to go to the state's supreme court.

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